high potassium

[cosmo]

DH is on PD Baxter cycler. We've been in the hospital twice now with extremely high potassium. this last time it was 8.6, enough to put him into arrythmia. now, he's been home for a few days and we thought everything was fine til they did blood test yesterday. his K is 7. it's supposed to be 5.5. i'm afraid it will keep going up. the cycler doesn't seem to be pulling off the K. anyone else have this and what have you done to lower your K?

[Rerun]

No milk or cheese.  Cottage cheese is okay.  No pop.  No potatoes.  Rice is okay. 

I mean .... He is what he eats. 

There is Kaxolate (sp) that makes him shit it out. 

[cosmo]

yeah, i'm picking up the koalexate (sp) at the pharmacy this evening. i'll tell him about milk and cheese. he's an avid pop drinker and loves potatoes. thanks for your suggestions

[tito]

Potassium is found in many other things - oranges, mangoes, bananas, tomatoes. Do some research on the internet so you don't run afoul of your dietary restrictions. There is a good app for the iPhone - Kidney Diet - which lists the potassium and phosphorous content of hundreds of different foods.

[PatDowns]

yeah, i'm picking up the koalexate (sp) at the pharmacy this evening. i'll tell him about milk and cheese. he's an avid pop drinker and loves potatoes. thanks for your suggestions

DaVita has an excellent web site to help with the renal diet and meal planning.  You do not have to be a patient at their center to access the info:

http://www.davita.com/kidney-disease/diet-and-nutrition/diet%20basics/potassium,-phosphorus-and-the-dialysis-diet/e/5309

http://www.davita.com/recipes/index.cfm?gclid=CIiyk4WU7bgCFUdo7Aod5joA7w

http://www.davita.com/food-analyzer/

Fresenius has a link as well:

http://www.ultracare-dialysis.com/RecipeCenter.aspx

[billybags]

Rerun is so right about the cheese and other stuff. My husband has got really low pottasium and that is just as bad. 3.1. I am trying to stuff bananas, potatoes, advacados and tomatoes down him, whats it all about!

[Quickfeet]

If he has problems with Kaxolate like most people such as diarriah and gas, try to get him to stick with it for a week or two. At first I had those side effects but after a week my body got adjusted and all I experience is some mild gas about 30 minuets after I take a dose.

[Lucinda]

I haven't been here in a while but you should get his access graft checked.  I was still able to do dialysis the same as usual, still had the trill but my graft was blocked.  My potassium was 9 and my doctors know I am very particular about my diet.  They did a scan on my graft and found it was blocked.  They put a permacath in my neck and that didn't work so they operated under a local to fix my graft because they wouldn't give a general with such a high potassium reading.  All good now and back to normal but nothing different happened with my graft to let me know it was blocked and I could still do dialysis without any issues.  If his diet is good and he is restricting potassium then maybe something to have checked out.  Cheers, Cindy.   

[Big E]

Watch out for beans, also. I love Mexican food and ended up in the hospital with elevated potassium after overindulging in refried beans.

[tito]

I live part time in México, and aside from beans I love fresh squeezed orange juice. We even get deliveries of fresh oranges to our place. My doctor gave me little bottles of kalexate just in case. Never had any problems.

[Whamo]

I got a high potassium reading for the first time in two years last month.  When I thought about my diet it was no wonder: cheese, canteloupe, beans,  potatoes crept into my diet so I cut them out.  Now, no problem.